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Royals sign, introduce first-round pick Singer

Competitiveness on the mound impressed Royals

By
Jeffrey FlanaganMLB.com

KANSAS CITY -- The fiery video is widespread now, and Royals first-round Draft pick right-hander Brady Singer seemingly knew a question about it was coming as he was introduced to the Kansas City media after being signed Tuesday afternoon.

KANSAS CITY -- The fiery video is widespread now, and Royals first-round Draft pick right-hander Brady Singer seemingly knew a question about it was coming as he was introduced to the Kansas City media after being signed Tuesday afternoon.

"The woman in the front row," Singer said, pointing to his mother, Jacquelyn, who was seated in the first row along with Singer's father, Brett, at the press conference inside Kauffman Stadium. "She's extremely competitive and it comes right to me."

Jacquelyn immediately blushed, but later told MLB.com, "I guess I just don't like to quit, so he gets that from me."

The video shows Singer infuriated and beside himself as the tarp comes onto the field when he was pitching for the University of Florida. Singer was angered because the rain delay meant he would not pitch again that day.

But it was partly that competitive nature that lured scouts to grade him so highly out of Florida, which ultimately led to the Royals taking him with their first selection at No. 18 overall. Singer signed for $4.25 million, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, above the slotted amount of $3,349,300.

Royals area scout Jim Buckley, who began scouting Singer in high school, said Singer was "probably the most competitive I've seen on the mound."

Of course, there was plenty of talent in Singer's right arm that wowed scouts as well. He was named the 2018 Dick Howser Trophy winner as the top player in college baseball. This season, as a junior, he went 12-3 with a 2.55 ERA.

Here are a few more highlights from the press conference:

What's next for Singer?

Royals general manager Dayton Moore: "We're going to sit down and talk about that together. We certainly want to get Brady's input on that as well. The most important thing is we transition in the right manner, to give him the best chance to get going in his professional career. "

What impressed you most about Singer?

Royals director of scouting Lonnie Goldberg: "The pedigree, the track record. Obviously, you're looking at a pitcher that has performed on one of the highest stages. He was the player of the year, SEC pitcher of the year. College World Series champion. You don't get to do all those things if you don't do things really well. Brady's always been able to fill up the strike zone, he's able to throw both breaking pitches behind in the count. He does all the little things -- holds runners, fields his position."

On Singer's friendship with Jackson Kowar, his Florida teammate who signed with the Royals on Monday:

Singer: "Well, obviously, I've got a buddy on the team. He's been my roommate for three years. We were sitting in the dugout when the Draft was happening, and he walked up to me and said, 'You can't get rid of me yet. I just got picked by the Royals.' We were extremely happy. It's something really cool. We actually got to see some of our older guys do that the year before, or two years before. Just being able to play with him again, and hanging out with him and obviously both of us trying to help out the team as much as we can, it's a really cool thing."

What scouting report would you give on yourself?

Singer: "I feel like I fill up the strike zone. But I think the main thing is, I'm going to go out there and compete. I think that you've got to match the competitiveness in the box. I obviously sink the ball -- that's my main goal, to keep the ball on the ground. Main goal is to just try to get you out."